


TabLOIDS

by AdmiralTabby



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, Drama, F/M, Fame, Idol Industry, Idols, Press and Tabloids, Romance, hidden romance, music industry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 22:08:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10545148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdmiralTabby/pseuds/AdmiralTabby
Summary: Being an idol isn't as glamorous as one would believe. Kaito is a disgraced idol currently out of the public eye, forced to repair his image. Enter Miku, the hopeful new recruit with a genuine love for music and dance. This fic takes the style of of strict Korean entertainment industries and applies it to Japanese pop with Vocaloids as the stars. It will follow numerous characters as they struggle with fame, forbidden romance, impossible standards, public appearance, the press, and pleasing insane fans.Originally posted on my FanFiction account





	

A blue-haired young man sat by himself in a fancy office. He was nursing the side of his face with an ice pack, with one of his eyes starting to turn purple. His hair was on the longer side, reaching his shoulders even while pulled into a tight ponytail. As for his clothes, he was dressed fashionably, and expensively, with the latest trends of Japan's music industry.

The door behind him opened, and a slightly older man with similar facial features entered the room. He was dressed professionally in a smart looking suit, his black hair cut to a more standard length. The blue-haired man glanced briefly at the newcomer as he sat in a chair next to him.

"You've really done it this time, Kaito," said the black-haired man bluntly. Kaito gave a snort. The older man scowled at him with disapproval.

"You should be at least a little concerned here. The CEO would have sacked you and all possibilities of any type of a career if I hadn't convinced him otherwise."

"So why did you?!" demanded Kaito, still pressing the ice to his jaw. "What makes you think I want to stay in this life?"

"Because you have no choice!" retorted the older one. Kaito slumped back in his chair. "If you quit being an idol after what happened, what would you do?"

"I dunno, go get a normal job and try to live a normal life. I want to be free to choose how I live.." Kaito started.

"Wrong! You are an idol. No one will hire you because they'll get swamped by people who want to meet you, ruined or not. Getting a job outside of this industry is impossible at this point. The media will eat you alive. You will never be able to support yourself in any other way. So I went and pleaded your sorry case to our mutual boss, and I was able to convince him not to terminate you!" huffed the older man. Kaito looked down, his face finally looking ashamed.

"Zeito...you don't have to help me all the time.." he muttered. Zeito rolled his eyes.

"I'm your new manager, and your older brother. It's my job to help you. Now let's talk about what's going to happen to you," he said, reclining a bit into his chair. Kaito switched the ice pack to his other hand and waited for Zeito to continue.

"You obviously won't be releasing any new songs for at least a year." Zeito began. "You're going to be put back into training, and it isn't going to be any easier this time around. I was, however, able to convince them to let you decide what you want your new look to be, as long as they still have some input for music videos and whatnot."

"That's fine, I guess..." Kaito sighed, leaning his head back onto the wall. Zeito stood.

"But we should get going, the next couple of weeks are going to long ones."

0~0~0

Kaito sat on one of the ends of the large L-shaped couch in a karaoke room, away from the larger cluster of people. He was with a few friends from the agency, as it was their night off. They often came to the karaoke bar to have what they called "musical freedom" to unwind from a hectic week at the agency.

Currently, a pink-haired man about the same age as Kaito was trying to decide on a song. His interesting wardrobe consisted of lots of pinks and whites with black accents, looking like someone had violently mashed a skater with a model.

"Just pick one Yuma!" growled a purple-haired, yukata clad man. His hair was pulled back into a long ponytail.

"These things can't be rushed Gakupo. It has to be perfect," chided Yuma, indignantly clicking through the options. The room's coffee table was littered with evidence of the group's loosened state, such as beer cans and sake, soju, and shochu bottles. They had a few blessed days off, and Kaito's fellow members of the entertainment industry never took free time lightly. He was currently with four others; Yuma, Gakupo, Kiyoteru and Akito. Yuma was a freshly-debuted idol, still fresh in the ways of the industry and with only a small following so far. Kiyoteru and the red-headed Akito were members of a band who had yet to debut called Ice Mountain. Kiyoteru was the vocalist and Akito was the lead guitarist. Gakupo was the only one remotely close to major stardom, with a modest following of fans and well-received music.

Yuma finally selected a song, Ayumi Hamasaki's Butterfly, of all things, and was dutifully belting it out. Akito was cheering him and singing along, waving his can of beer around in time with the music. Gakupo feigned annoyance and was loudly critiquing their work. Kaito sighed and opened a new bottle of shochu, pouring it into a glass and mixing it with some soda. Kiyoteru moved over to Kaito's corner of the couch.

"Well, it's been 2 months, how are you handling everything?" the glasses-wearing vocalist asked. Kaito shrugged as he sipped his drink.

"I mean, it's still in all the papers and all over the internet," he groused. "You know how annoying neitzens can be, and equally impossible to please."

"Well, we haven't had to deal with them personally yet. Our teaser trailers haven't even dropped yet. But I do know how it can be. Just be glad it wasn't a sex scandal," said Kiyoteru.

"You seriously think that would be worse than having a public drunken fight?" Kaito challenged. Kiyoteru held up a hand.

"I didn't say what you did was by any means good, but I have noticed that when affairs come to light, even ones that are non-romantic in nature, they always make the biggest waves," he told Kaito.

"If you say so, Teru," Kaito sighed. Both of the young men sat for a few minutes, simply enjoying the atmosphere of the room as well as the antics of their friends. Gakupo was now going up to sing something to one-up Yuma. The notes of PonPonPon soon filled the room as the yukata-clad man proceeded to do the dance perfectly as he sang. Sipping his drink, Kaito glanced over at Kiyoteru.

"So are you going to keep teaching...?" he asked, letting the question hang in the air. Kiyoteru sighed as he reached for a can of beer. He popped the tab open and took a sip before answering the question.

"You have to keep in mind that teaching is as much my passion as music is," he said, his eyes closed as he brought the can to his lips again. Kaito nodded.

"I've heard Akito talk about things before, how IceMountain got started and all that. Don't your bass player and keyboardist work at the same school as you?"

"Yes, they do. The three of us have talked, and have decided that we are going to stay at our school as long as we can. We don't expect to get to some crazy level of stardom or anything, although Haruto practically lives like a star already," Kiyoteru said, rolling his eyes.

"Haruto, he's the blond on the keyboard right?" Kaito asked to confirm.

"That's right. His mother is Ai Amane, the renowned pianist. And his grandfather was the head of a zaibatsu back in the day." Kaito gave a low whistle.

"That actually explains a lot about him. Both the apparent wealth and his musical abilities," he noted, leaning back on the couch.

"Of course he has no actual experience with fame from this type of music, as even a world renowned pianist for a mother only has a limited fanbase. He may not look it, but he's just as nervous as the rest of us," Kiyoteru said. "Of course, we know that we won't always have final say in all of the decisions for IceMountain, but we accepted that as the price to share our music with the world," he added. Kaito gripped his drink a little tighter.

"One day, Teru, I hope we can change that," he said.

0~0~0

"Holy cow, Uncle Haruto, your house is HUGE!" The usually flawless and graceful 25 year old Haruto Amane stood awkwardly in his home as two teens stared in awe of their surroundings. Though 100% native Japanese, natural blond hair graced his head. The two teens, his nephew and niece, also sported the blond locks.

"What do you even do with this much space?" asked the girl.

"The band I'm in practices here often, when we aren't at our agency," he offered.

"I still can't believe we're going to be living with you," the boy said, flopping down on the couch. Haruto's eye twitched. He was a school teacher, so he could deal with kids, but the Kagamine twins were teenagers. And they were related to him. They were also uncommonly witty, which meant his usual tricks and charisma didn't work at all.

"Well, your mother is in America on business and I have plenty of space, just don't break anything," he huffed. Rin, the girl, started to look around.

"Hey you said your band practices here, right? Where do you do that?" she asked.

"Follow me," Haruto said, figuring there was no harm in showing them. If he remembered correctly, Rin and her twin Len were both into the music arts as well. They were sure to enjoy a glimpse into his musical life. He led them around a corner and down the hall to the music studio he had in his home. The practice instruments were still in the room from their last rehearsal as well. The twins' eye shone as they took in the sight.

"You debut soon, right Uncle Haruto?" Len asked. "Can we come to your concerts and meet your band mates?"

"And do you you really work for Crypton Entertainment? Do you know Gakupo and Gumi?" Rin asked, suddenly excited.

"Whoa, calm down you guys. Now don't go blabbing to your friends, but yes, I know a lot of people you've heard of within Crypton. We actually hang out with a number of the male idols fairly regularly," Haruto admitted.

"Ah, Gakupo is so cool...the singing Samurai!" Len declared, striking a heroic pose.

"And Gumi is so cute, I want to wear outfits like her!" added Rin.

"Just watch, Uncle Haruto! We will team up and become the ultimate idol duo!" they announced in perfect unison. Haruto chuckled.

"Well, Crypton does have talent auditions every now and then. No one usually gets in or anything, they're mainly just for fun, and you get a chance to meet some idols. I actually think is one is coming up next week. I can take you to it," he offered. Rin and Len's eyes grew large.

"Ehhh? Really? You would?" they asked, still speaking in unison.

"You bet!" he promised, pointing his thumb towards himself, "and I'll even tell my idol friends to come watch you for your couple minutes of fame!"

"Wow!" they cheered. The two of them immediately started throwing song titles and ideas at each other. Haruto grinned despite himself. It was sure to be a good, fun time.

0~0~0

"Hey did you hear that there's gonna be another one of those talent try out things?" Yuma asked Kaito. The blue-haired idol glanced up at his friend, panting slightly. They were in the dance studio, and Kaito was practicing choreography for a potential new song after his absence. Yuma, however, was loafing around and watching instead of practicing his own dances.

"So?" Kaito finally asked, walking over to the mirror Yuma was leaning on. The pink-haired idol handed him a water bottle.

"Yup. Apparently Haruto's niece and nephew are gonna be in it too. He's been trying to convince everyone to come watch them," Yuma said. Kaito took a drink.

"Haruto Amane? The keyboardist?" he asked to confirm.

"Yup," Yuma nodded.

"They any good? His niece and nephew?" Yuma shrugged.

"I have no idea. Haruto's apparently not saying anything about their talent. I hear that they're twins, and only 14 to boot though,"

"Seems kinda young," Kaito muttered.

"Ah, but such is idol life. That's prime age for idol recruitment you know. How old were you when you started training?" asked Yuma.

"...Sixteen.." Kaito admitted, gulping down more water. He wiped his brow with a small towel and plopped down on the ground next to his friend. "You're not going to let me practice anymore are you?" he asked. Yuma gave a goofy grin and two thumbs up.

"Bro, you know it!" he chirped. Kaito rolled his eyes as he continued to slowly drink from his water bottle. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Their quiet atmosphere was broken by the sound of the door opening and voices. They both turned to see who they had been joined by. It was Gakupo, dressed in similar practice clothes as Kaito.

"Oh you guys aren't practicing are you?" the seasoned idol asked. Kaito and Yuma shook their heads. Lighting up at this, Gakupo shuffled over to them.

"Then I have some news for you!" he told them, somewhat quietly.

"Oh? What's up?" Yuma asked.

"I accidentally overheard Kaito's brother Zeito on the phone with someone...they were talking about the CEO," Gakupo told them.

"What was he saying?" Kaito asked, suddenly interested since his brother had been mentioned.

"Well I could only hear half the conversation but it looks like the CEO is is some sort of trouble...sounds like tax evasion," Gakupo continued. Yuma gave a low whistle.

"What's gonna happen to Crypton Entertainment if he gets found out?" he asked.

"That's the thing, it sounded like he was making business plans with whoever he was talking to. I don't like to assume things without facts, but I have a hunch that there is going to be a change in management very soon around here..."

0~0~0

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: 
> 
> I know that Jpop and Kpop are similar, and yet extremely different. I am more familiar with the workings of Kpop however, since I once sold my soul into that crazy world for awhile. HOWEVER Kpop offered a more 'dramatic' setting for my story idea, if you will, even though the story takes place in Japan. I also wanted to stress my current views about how unhealthy the industry and it's fans tend to be. This fic is going to stress the fact that change is needed in this industry. If you are a fan of Kpop I do not mean to offend you, and Kpop is still a great genre that has put out some great music over the years. However the treatment and freedoms of the artists and the downright obsession and worship by fans is something that needs to stop so I will be exploring this in my story. You do not have to read this if you do not want to but I do believe that opening your mind to new ideas is a good thing. Please enjoy the story.


End file.
